Support structure for cast in place conduit, junction boxes and similar structures

ABSTRACT

Poured concrete floors and ceilings in buildings contain electrical conduit, air conditioning conduit, plumbing and junction boxes, for example. These conduits must withstand the rigorous activity of a construction floor and the concrete poured on them during the construction phase. Rod support structures made out of steel rod stock are used to hold the conduit and junction boxes in place on a temporary plywood floor in between rebar. The support structures have feet. The poured concrete floor covers the conduit, junction boxes and support structures. The footprint of each of the support structures is designed to be as small as possible by having minimum contact with a temporary plywood floor. When the plywood floor is removed, the support structures are substantially buried in the concrete. The concrete floor is underneath the feet, providing minimum exposure of the feet to the surface of the concrete next to the plywood floor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional application No.61/077,849 filed Jul. 2, 2008 for Cast In Place Supports for Cast inPlace Riser Pipes and Conduits, the entire subject matter of which isincorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to form cast-in-place support structuresfor conduits, junction boxes and similar structures, and moreparticularly pertains to cast-in-place support structure for pouredfloor/ceilings in multiple story buildings or ground level pads.

2. Description of Related Art

Poured concrete floors in multiple story buildings contain rebar,electrical and plumbing conduit and other structures, like electricalconnection boxes, which are contained with the poured concrete floor.Prior to a concrete pour, the area is a construction site with plumbersand electricians laying their conduits and cables and other workers,causing damage to conduits that are to be contained within the pouredconcrete. If conduits are dislodged, a subsequent pour will cause theconduit to plug up and become non-functional. This leads to jackhammering the concrete floor to dig up the buried conduit and lay newconduit. To prevent this problem, support structures are utilized tohold the conduit firmly in place before and during a pour, therebyreducing the amount of damage caused to the conduit by the constructionactivity prior to the pour. Such support structures tend to have largefeet. These large feet rest on a temporary plywood floor, for example,which is the base of a form for the concrete pour. The plywood floor ispulled away after the concrete has hardened. The concrete surface nextto the plywood floor becomes the ceiling for the story below. When theplywood floor is pulled away, the large feet of the support structuresused are seen in the underside of the concrete, i.e., the ceiling. Notonly are these feet unsightly, but they tend to cause chipping, crackingand spackling of the concrete around the feet when the floor form isremoved. As a result, extensive patching of the ceiling surface may berequired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention avoids the unsightly show of feet when thetemporary pour floor is removed because the feet of the supportstructure are designed to have minimum contact with the floor. Thesupport structures are formed out of metal or plastic roc stock whichmay be round, square or rectangular, for example. The feet are formed aspart of the support structure. The support structure is designed to havea minimum of three contact points with the temporary floor. Each contactpoint or foot is minimized in size without compromising the foot'sstructural integrity. By causing the foot to contact the floor at anangle, only a small part of each foot actually contacts the floor. Thethree small contact points are surprisingly strong enough to support therod support structure and all the conduit attached to it. When thetemporary floor is pulled away, only a small part of each foot is seenin the concrete from below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exact nature of this invention, as well as the objects andadvantages thereof, will become readily apparent upon consideration ofthe following specification in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference numerals designate like partsthroughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a support structure according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a support structure according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention showing the support of conduit;

FIG. 9 is a perspective of a support structure according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective from the top indicating the support structureof FIG. 9 supporting an elbow and conduit;

FIG. 11 is a perspective from the side of the support structure of FIG.9 supporting an elbow and conduit connection;

FIG. 12 is a perspective of a poured concrete ceiling showing the partsof a support structure that are visible from below;

FIG. 13 is a perspective of a poured concrete ceiling showing the partsof a support structure that are visible from below;

FIG. 14 is a perspective of a poured concrete ceiling showing the partsof a support structure that are visible from below;

FIG. 15 is a perspective of the FIG. 6 support structure holdingconduit;

FIG. 16 is a perspective of an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention showing a support structure on a prepared dirt base for slabpour; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective of an alternate embodiment of the inventionshowing a support structure for use on a dirt base for a slab floor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of a support structurefor support of a cast-in-place conduit. Support structure 21 is made outof rod stock which may be steel or plastic, for example, formed into theshape shown. Support structure 21 has a vertical riser portion 23 towhich a pipe riser, for example, may be fastened by zip-lock ties orsome other convenient fastening device. A less than 90° bend 25 at oneend of riser 23 forms a first foot for support structure 21. The rodstock continues to a 180° bend 29 which forms a second foot of supportstructure 21. Foot 29 and foot 25 of support 21 contact the same plane,whereas the rest of the rod does not because of the less than 90°downward bends 27 and 31 in the rod. The rod ends in a third foot 33that has a loop 34 formed at its end. Foot 33 is on the same plane asfeet 25 and 29 because of the bend 31 in the rod.

The rod utilized for the support structure of the present invention maybe round, rectangular, square or triangular, for example, even thoughonly a round version is illustrated. The rod may be made out of plasticor metal, such as steel for example, and materials having similarcharacteristics of strength and formability.

FIG. 2 illustrates a variation of the support structure of FIG. 1. Thesupport structure 35 of FIG. 2 has a loop 39 formed at the top of thevertical upright 37. The loop 39 is designed to contain a typicaldiameter conduit that requires support. Support structure 35 has a lessthan 90° bend 41 formed in the rod at the other end of the verticalupright, to form the first foot. A 180° bend 45 forms a second foot. Twoless than 90° downward bends 43 and 47 cause the second foot to be onthe same plane as the first foot 41 without any of the rod touching thetemporary floor. A third foot 49, formed into a loop at its end is onthe same plane as the other two feet 41 and 45. The rod connecting foot45 and 49 also does not touch the floor because of bend 47.

FIG. 3 illustrates a support structure that utilizes more than one rod.Support structure 51 utilizes three separate rods 55, 57 and 59 that areconnected together in a vertical upstanding portion 53 that acts as anattachment post for conduit. The three rods are bent at like angles 61,63, greater than 90°, but less than 180° so that the rod ends 65, 67 and69 approach the floor at an angle and the loops formed at the respectiveends only contact the floor at an outside edge.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate version of the support structure of FIG.3. The support structure 71 of FIG. 4 has a loop 75 formed at the top orfirst end of the vertical support portion 71. The three rods 76, 77 and79 end in loop feet 81, 83 and 123. The three respective legs approachthe floor at an angle, thereby causing the feet to have minimal contactwith the temporary floor.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate version of the support structure of FIG.3. The support structure 87 of FIG. 5 has two loops 91 and 93 formed atthe top or first end of vertical support portion 89. The three rod legs95, 97 and 99 end in looped feet 101, 103 and 105, respectively.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another version of the support structure of FIG.3. Support structure 107 has three loops 111, 113 and 115 formed at thetop or first end of vertical support portion 109, 107. The legs 117, 118and 119 end in feet 121, 123 and 125, having loops that approach thefloor at an angle, in the same manner as the other versions of thesupport structure shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

The function off the support structure 107 is shown in FIG. 15. Thesupport structure 107 is shown holding three separate upstanding conduitportions 213, 215 and 217 that are to be buried in concrete.

While the support structures shown in FIGS. 1-6 are designed to supportstructures that are vertical, the present invention also contemplatessupport structures for supporting conduit along a horizontal plane. Sucha support structure is shown in FIG. 7. Support structure 127 of FIG. 7is formed from a single rod to have a trapeze portion 129 which isparallel to the temporary floor. Two 90° bends 131, 133 at each end ofthe trapeze portion 129 lead to a first and second foot 135, 141 thatcontacts a temporary floor. The rod extends from foot 135 to a thirdfoot 139 which may or may not end in the loop. Only a portion of foot139 contacts the temporary floor because the rod is bent upwardly at thefoot 135 and then downwardly at an angle 137. The rod extends from thesecond foot 141 in an upward bend to a fourth foot 145 which ends in aloop. A downward bend 143 in the rod between foot 141 and 145 which isless than 90°, prevents the portion of the rod between foot 145 and 141from contacting the temporary floor.

FIG. 8 illustrates the support structure of FIG. 7 holding conduit 148along its trapeze section 129 with the conduit being held fast to thehorizontal rod by wire ties 146, for example. Zip ties or some otherconvenient tie mechanism may also be utilized. Support structure 127 isshown as sitting on a temporary floor 147 which may be plywood or someother removable surface that acts as the floor for the form with whichthe concrete will be poured.

Another version of the support structure of the present invention whichutilizes four feet is shown in FIG. 9. Support structure 149 of FIG. 9is similar to the support structure of FIG. 7. It has a trapeze portion151, a pair of 90° bends 153, 155 at opposite ends of the trapezeportion that lead to a first foot 157 and a second foot 163. The rodextends from second foot 163 to third foot 167 which ends in a loop. Abend 165 between foot 163 and foot 167 prevents the rod from contactingthe temporary floor. First foot 157 extends to fourth foot 161 whichends in a loop. A bend 159 between the second foot 157 and the fourthfoot 161 prevents the rod from contacting the temporary floor. A saddle169 is attached to the trapeze portion 151 and part of the uprightsections that lead to the first foot 157 and second foot 163 of supportstructure 149, to form a support surface for conduit and 90° elbows, forexample.

FIG. 10 illustrates how support structure 149 performs its function tohold a 90° elbow 173 for conduit which is attached to flexible conduit175 that fits within the diameter of the elbow 173. Pipe tape 176 holdsthe flexible conduit 175 to the elbow 173. The joint which connects theflexible conduit 175 to the stiff 90° elbow 173 is sensitive andcritical. The support structure 149 shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, isdesigned to prevent dislodgement of this joint by providing a flatsupport surface by way of saddle 169 to which the flexible conduit 175and the 90° elbow 173 is firmly fastened by zip-locks 179, for example.

The two feet 161, 167 of the support structure 149 ending in loopsfacilitate the feet being held fast to the temporary floor 171 by woodscrews 177, for example. The loop feet of all the support structuresillustrated in this application are designed to permit the use of screwsor some other fastening mechanism to fasten the feet to the floor. Suchfastening of the feet is required in those situations where thesupported conduits and elbows experience a rough environment resultingfrom foot traffic and the movement of equipment along the constructionfloor.

FIG. 12 illustrates the concrete floor after it has been poured and set,looking at the floor from the underside, effectively the ceiling 181.What has come through the concrete floor as a result of the footprint ofthe support structure is shown in FIG. 12. The footprint illustrated isfor the support structures shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. What has come throughthe concrete floor are three fastening screws 183, 187, 185 which passthrough the loops in the feet of the support structure to fasten thesupport structure to the temporary wood floor which has now been tornaway. These screw ends 183, 185 and 187 are simply cut away, leaving asmall flat round surface. Also illustrated is the edges of the threefeet 191, 189 and 193 for the support structure. As can be seen, verylittle of the feet show through the concrete 181, requiring no touch upor repair work. The structure of those feet allow the concrete to flowaround them and below them.

FIG. 13 illustrates the concrete poured ceiling 195 housing a trapezetype support structure, as illustrated in FIGS. 7-11 embedded therein.Only the edges 197, 199, 201 and 203 of the four feet of the supportstructure are barely visible in the concrete ceiling 195. If fasteningscrews were used they would also be visible.

FIG. 14 illustrates a ceiling 205 showing the footprint of the supportstructure illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 embedded there. One woodfastening screw 207 comes through the concrete. Only the edges 209, 211and 213 of the three feet of the support structure are slightly visiblein the concrete ceiling 205.

The result is that no touch-ups are required. There is no torn awayconcrete or spackling as is common with prior flat footprint supportstructures.

Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17 which illustrates the embodiment of asupport structure for use in poured concrete foundations at groundlevel, such as concrete pads. Support structure 219, shown in FIG. 16,has a vertical support rod 221 that is attached to three legs 231, 235and 227, which are parallel to vertical support rod 221. These legs areattached to support vertical support rod 221 by angled rods 229, 233 and225. This support structure is used by pounding the support structure219 into the ground up to the end of the angled portions 229, 233 and225 of the legs, desired. The angle 223 that these angled portions 225,229, 233 make with the vertical support rod 221 is greater than 90° butless than 180°.

FIG. 17 illustrates a support structure 237 that is used to support autility box or conduit that may require a flat surface 239. Flat surface239 is shown as square but may be any other convenient shape such asrectangular, triangular, round or trapezoidal, for example. Extendingfrom external points, such as the corners of the horizontal flat surface239, are a plurality of legs 241, 243, 245 and 247. These legs aresupported by struts 249 and 251. Support structure 237 is utilized bypounding the legs which may, for convenience, have pointed ends 253, 255(FIG. 16) into the prepared ground for the slab pour. The legs may bepounded into the ground up to the support struts 249 and 251, therebyproviding quite solid support for any conduit or electrical equipmentthat is attached to the surface 239.

1. A support structure for holding structures in place on a temporaryfloor, comprising: a single rod having a first and second end formed tohave an upright portion at the first end, a bend of less than 90° alongits length to form a first foot contacting the floor, a leg portionextending from the first foot to an angle bent into a U-shape to form asecond foot contacting the floor, the leg having a downward bend beforethe second foot, the leg portion extending beyond the second foot andending in a third foot, contacting the floor, the leg having a downwardbend before the third foot.
 2. The support structure of claim 1 furthercomprising a loop formed at the third foot contacting the floor at anouter portion of the loop.
 3. The support structure of claim 1 furthercomprising a loop formed at the first end of the rod in the uprightportion.
 4. A support structure for holding structure in place on atemporary floor, comprising: a rod having a first end and three secondends formed to have an upright portion at the first end bent at an anglegreater than 90° along its length for each of the three second endportions, each second end portion ending in a loop that contacts thefloor at an outer portion of the loop, the loops forming three feet. 5.The support structure of claim 3 wherein the rod comprises threeseparate rods joined together at the upright portion at the first endand separating from each other at the greater than 90° bend.
 6. Thesupport structure of claim 4 further comprising one of the separate rodshaving a loop formed at the first end of the rod at the upright portionfor holding conduit.
 7. The support structure of claim 4 furthercomprising two of the separate rods having a loop formed at the firstend of each rod at the upright portion for holding conduit.
 8. Thesupport structure of claim 4 further comprising three of the separaterods having a loop formed at the first end of each rod at the uprightportion for holding conduit.
 9. A support structure for holding tubingin place on a temporary floor, comprising: a single rod having a firstand second end, a loop at the first end to form a first foot, with theloop contacting the floor at an outer portion of the loop, a greaterthan 90° bend along the rod extending into a first U-shaped bend forminga second foot, a support portion of the rod extending from the U-shapedbend parallel to floor for a predetermined distance ending in a secondU-shaped bend forming a third foot.
 10. A support structure for holdingtubing in place on a temporary floor, comprising: a single rod having afirst end and a second end, a loop at the first end to form a firstfoot, with the loop contacting the floor at an outer portion of theloop, a less than 90° downward bend along the rod extending into anotherless than 90° bend to form a second foot, extending into a first uprightportion, a 90° bend providing a support portion of the rod parallel tothe floor for a predetermined distance, a 90° bend ending the supportportion extending into a second upright portion with a less than 90°bend to form a third foot, a less than 90° downward bend along the rodpast the third foot, with a loop at the second end forming a fourthfoot.
 11. The support structure of claim 9 further comprising a saddlemounted on the rod along the support portion.
 12. The support structureof claim 10 wherein the saddle extends beyond the support portion of therod into the first and second upright portions.
 13. A support structurefor holding tubing in place on a soft surface, comprising: a rod havinga first end and three second ends formed to have an upright portion atthe first end bent at an angle greater than 90° along its length foreach of the three second end portions, the three second ends formingthree feet.
 14. The support structure of claim 12 further comprising aless than 90° bend in each of the three second end portions placing thethree second end portions perpendicular to the surface.
 15. A supportstructure for holding tubing in place on a soft surface, comprising: aflat surface of predetermined size parallel to the soft surface; aplurality of legs extending from an edge of the flat surface towards thesoft surface.
 16. The support structure of claim 14 further comprisingsupport struts between a pair of legs.